I appreciate that Simon has been trying to differentiate the high school books from the younger books by publishing them with different cover styles. Young readers are not easily fooled, however, and as the Alice books have gone through different cover styles over the course of their publication (and so many series change cover style partway through), the changed covers aren’t going to keep 11 year olds (and their parents) from purchasing the high school books, thinking that they’re just getting the next book in an innocent middle-grade series. Also: on the “books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor” page, all of the Alice books are grouped together under the heading “The Alice Books.” But on the facing page, there’s a list of “books for young readers” as well as “books for middle readers” and “books for older readers.”

But the Alice books are all listed together? (Anyone know if the whole list is printed inside the middle grade books as well?)

In this installment, it’s the summer before Alice’s senior year. During the first half of the book, Alice is consumed by her plan to go and visit her boyfriend Patrick at the U of Chicago where he’s taking summer classes. She decides before going that she wants to have sex with him, and procures some fancy underwear at Victoria’s Secret for just such an occasion. Her (uncharacteristically) naive parents believe her when she says she’s staying in the girls’ dorm and let her go off without really checking into the situation. Aaaand thus occurs what I like to call “the content.”

I really don’t think that the fifth grader reading LOVINGLY ALICE should be reading passages like the following: (spoilers ahead, and sexual language, leading to my first-ever cut on this blog)

His fingers moved gently, slowly, back and forth on the bare skin above my waistband, and I sat up for a moment and leaned forward so that he could unhook my bra. When we resumed the kiss, his hand moved up under the bra, over my bare breasts, and I could feel my nipples stiffen under his caresses.

A flood of warmth spread along my inner thighs. Patrick was breathing harder too.

I turned around and put my hand on the fly of his jeans. Patrick withdrew his arm and unzipped them. Slowly I put my hand under his boxers and gently stroked him, the first time I had ever touched a boy like this. And suddenly his lips parted, his head jerked back once, twice, then again, and I felt warm wetness as he ejaculated in my hand. He leaned against me, murmuring my name.

I could feel my own wetness and wanted his hand on me.

“I need you,” I whispered, and lay back in his arms again, my legs stretched out on the bench, and worked at unzipping my jeans. Patrick helped me tug them down a little, then gently slid his hand into my underwear and touched me. My throat seemed to be swelling in my excitement. I guided his fingers just where I wanted them, showing him how hard to press and how fast to do it, and a few minutes later, in the dark of Botany Pond, I came.

Okay. 3 problems here:

1. The entire passage just reads too…old. This is their first time doing this, but she’s able to touch him just right, and show him how to touch her? The wording feels like something out of a Johanna Lindsey novel rather than a YA book. And it’s so in-depth! Couldn’t we gloss over some of it?

2. I’m trying to think of another contemporary YA book that uses words like “ejaculated” and phrases like “I came.”

3. I don’t care how much you try to make this book look different, middle school girls are going to read it. They are. They’re going to read the quite in-depth tale of Alice and Patrick getting to third base on a public bench. (At night, sure, but not exactly in the middle of nowhere.)

And I really, really don’t want them to. Are they going to be scarred? Probably not. Will some of them self-edit? Sure. But why go there?

This is the problem when a series starts with characters of one age and then takes those characters years into the future over the course of a very long series. I don’t know what to do about it. I personally, as a reader, don’t want there to be fewer Alice books – I love the Alice books. But as a bookseller (and a parent) I want 11 year old girls to be reading about 11 year old girls, not 17 year old girls. They’ve got years yet to read about 17 year old girls. I am perfectly aware teenagers are having sex and cursing and making dirty jokes, and I never complain about those things in YA novels. But I think this situation is different, because we’ve “known” Alice since she was 10 (and aren’t they publishing some even younger books now?).

I think if this scene really needed to happen, maybe we could have faded to black.

I also can’t post this review without saying that I am very annoyed by the fact that Naylor advises fans to order through online bookstores:

My bookstore doesn’t have your most recent Alice book and neither does my library. How can I get a copy? Ask your bookstore if the book is on order. If not, ask them to special order a copy for you. You will find that online bookstores often get a book to you faster than a local bookstore.

Considering that we can order a book and have it for a customer in two days, that’s just not true. Perhaps online bookstores can get you a book faster than a CHAIN bookstore, but not faster than a good independent. I really, really wish more authors had prominent support of indies on their websites. Also, don’t we all (especially young people) spend far too much time online anyway? Why encourage an online transaction over one done face-to-face?

Morgan and Cam have been best friends since birth, and now that they’re in high school, they’re in love. They have always been together; they are seemingly made for each other. They’ve been spending a lot of time planning out their joint sweet-sixteen party, certain to be a bash for the ages. Everything’s perfect…

…until everything isn’t. Suddenly Cam is different. Weird. Unexcited about their party. And, wait just a minute – when he landed that amazing touchdown at the football game, is Morgan going insane, or did it seem like he…flew? And why can’t Cam remember doing it? And who is this new kid Pip who’s staying at Cam’s house? Why has Morgan never heard of him?

Morgan has had psychic visions for as long as she can remember. She has never been able to foresee her own future, but her uncanny ability to do so for others has always made her popular. She decides to call up a vision of Cam’s future, and sees herself, staring at his naked back in disgust. Is he dying? Or does he just have some particularly revolting rash?

It’s not a rash. It’s wings.

Morgan soon learns that Cam was switched at birth with Pip. Pip is the actual son of Cam’s “parents,” and Cam is a fairy. Not just a fairy, but the heir to the fairy throne, and the fairies want him back. To be the king. On his sixteenth birthday, Cam is expected to cross back into the fairy realm and reclaim his life, and Pip is supposed to stay behind in the human world where he belongs.

Morgan refuses to accept this and sets out to fool the fairies and keep Cam with her forever. Pip agrees to help by returning to the fairy world in Cam’s place, even though he will face severe punishment for doing so. But as Cam weakens physically and mentally, his body reverting to fairy physiology, her resolve weakens as well. Are they really supposed to thwart destiny to be together? Can Morgan truly sacrifice Pip to save Cam? If only she could see her own future…

I can’t see any way for this book to have a sequel, but man, I want one. This book is good. The love story is tortured, but not too tortured. And there’s humor to break up the torture. The characters are well-drawn and individual. The villains are villain-y enough without being cartoons and the good guys are flawed, too. Morgan’s mistakes are realistic, her pain not overdone, and her relationships deep and true. Cam and Pip are two guys worth being tugged between. And the fantastical elements are not explained overmuch. Cam is a fairy. Morgan is a psychic. These things just are. They exist in our world, and Balog doesn’t bend over backwards to explain them. They just are. I hate being force fed unnecessary explanations. Balog has crafted a compelling, romantic, surprisingly funny story of two young people destined for one another…until they’re not. The fantastical elements are secondary to the exceptionally good writing. I highly recommend FAIRY TALE.

Two final notes: love the cover. LOVE. I am very into the covers that feature one striking image, and this is certainly one of those. I can’t wait to see the real thing. However, I am not a fan of the title change. Well, that’s not exactly right. This book used to be called FAIRY LUST (that’s the title on my galley), and I understand changing it, because I thought that wasn’t right. Having the word “lust” in a title is really going to put off a lot of parents, teachers and librarians who probably won’t take the time to figure out that there’s no real lust in this book. This is not a book about fairy sex. However, changing it to the incredibly generic “FAIRY TALE” was not, I think, the best move. That tells you…nothing. This book could be about anything. That title is not a grabber. I hope it doesn’t make a difference sales-wise, because I loved this book and I want it to succeed in a major way.

Other reviews: Karin’s Book Nook

Pre-order FAIRY TALE from an independent bookstore!